2015 NHL Draft
SHARE
Share with your Friends


At the Rink blog

Blues' Backes sidelined; Folin to debut for Wild

Thursday, 04.10.2014 / 2:46 PM

By Dan Myers - NHL.com Correspondent / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

Share with your Friends


2013-2014 At the Rink Blog
Blues' Backes sidelined; Folin to debut for Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Louis Blues will play the Minnesota Wild on Thursday without captain David Backes, who sustained a foot injury after being hit by a teammate's shot Tuesday against the Washington Capitals. Backes was seen with a walking boot on his left foot.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Backes could be out for the rest of the regular season but expects him back in time for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It's an opportunity for guys to step forward," Hitchcock said.

Wild defenseman Christian Folin will make his NHL debut. Folin, who two weeks ago was playing at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, was generally considered the top college free agent available following the season. He had interest from nearly every team in the NHL but chose the Wild over the Philadelphia Flyers, signing a two-year entry-level contract with Minnesota on March 31.

The Wild have burned the first year of Folin's contract and he's not eligible for the playoffs (he signed after the NHL Trade Deadline), but Minnesota will get a good glimpse of the future Thursday and potentially again Sunday against the Nashville Predators.

"I'm very excited. Been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks now," Folin said. "Of course I'm going to be nervous. After all, it's just another hockey game, I just have to try to keep it simple, like I've been doing all year."

Folin's ascension to the NHL is quite the story. After coming to the United States from Sweden, Folin was playing junior hockey for the Austin (Minn.) Bruins of the North American Hockey League as recently as two years ago. He played two seasons there and two in Lowell before signing with the Wild.

"I didn't think that would be a possibility," Folin said. "I had two great years at Lowell and the coaching staff really prepared me for this. I'm looking forward to tonight."

Minnesota, which clinched a playoff berth and the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference on Tuesday, will shuffle its lineup a bit. Folin and forwards Dany Heatley and Mike Rupp are expected to play. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon and forwards Stephane Veilleux and Justin Fontaine will sit. Goalie John Curry will start, the fifth to start a game for the Wild this season. Curry hasn't played in a NHL game since Jan. 16, 2010, when he allowed five goals on 14 shots as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"He's a battler," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "He doesn't have the size of a [Ilya] Bryzgalov, I don't know that technique is his strength. He's a gamer, is kind of how I'd put it."

Here are the projected lineups:

BLUES

Alexander Steen - Vladimir Sobotka - T.J. Oshie

Dmitrij Jaskin - Patrik Berglund - Jaden Schwartz

Brenden Morrow - Derek Roy - Steve Ott

Chris Porter - Maxim Lapierre - Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo

Barret Jackman - Roman Polak

Carlo Colaiacovo - Kevin Shattenkirk

Ryan Miller

Brian Elliott

Scratched: Jordan Leopold, Ian Cole, Magnus Paajarvi

Injured: David Backes (left foot), Vladimir Tarasenko (thumb)

WILD

Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle

Matt Moulson - Erik Haula - Jason Pominville

Matt Cooke - Kyle Brodziak - Nino Niederreiter

Mike Rupp - Cody McCormick - Dany Heatley

Ryan Suter - Jonathon Blum

Jonas Brodin - Nate Prosser

Marco Scandella - Christian Folin

John Curry

Ilya Bryzgalov

Scratched: Jared Spurgeon, Stephane Veilleux, Justin Fontaine

Injured: Mikael Granlund (upper body), Jason Zucker (quad), Keith Ballard (groin), Clayton Stoner (knee), Darcy Kuemper (upper body), Josh Harding (illness), Niklas Backstrom (abdominal)

NHL.TV™

NHL GameCenter LIVE™ is now NHL.TV™.
Watch out-of-market games and replays with an all new redesigned media player, mobile and connected device apps.

LEARN MORE

NHL Mobile App

Introducing the new official NHL App, available for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones and tablets. A host of new features and improved functionality are available across all platforms, including a redesigned league-wide scoreboard, expanded news coverage, searchable video highlights, individual team experiences* and more. The new NHL App on your tablet also introduces new offerings such as 60fps video, Multitasking** and Picture-in-Picture.

*Available only for smartphones
** Available only for suported iPads